Milwaukee Brewers Triple-A pitcher Thomas Pannone hurled the first minor-league perfect game in nine years on just 94 pitches on Monday. Pannone, a 32-year-old who pitched in parts of four MLB seasons from 2018-26, struck out eight batters in his perfect game, which earned the Nashville Sounds their 34th win of the second half. His perfect game is the third in the team's history, as well as just the fifth nine-inning individual perfect game in International League history.
Additionally, having thrown only 94 pitches, Pannone's perfect game qualifies as a "Maddux"—a complete game finished with fewer than 100 pitches thrown, named after Hall of Fame Greg Maddux. The MLB has seen 24 perfect games in its history, 10 of which took fewer than 100 pitches. Pannone began the year with Triple-A Nashville, and has spent the majority of the season there.
Through 22 appearances with the team on the year, he has a 4.23 ERA through 95.2 innings pitched to go with 82 strikeouts. He made a single MLB start this year, allowing three runs — two earned — while striking out two batters through three innings. His appearance in the bigs this season marked his first since 2023, and just his second with the Brewers.
Pannone made the majority of his MLB appearances towards the front end of his career, making his MLB debut in 2018 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched 43 innings that season, posting a 4.19 ERA with 29 strikeouts. He returned the following year and pitched 30 more innings, though his ERA rose to 6.16 across 37 appearances.
He struck out 69 batters that season, with 30 of his appearances coming out of the bullpen. The left-hander bounced around organizations for several years afterwards before landing with the Brewers in 2022. His debut came with the team in 2023, where he allowed two runs through 2.2 innings.
Before this season, it was his only MLB appearance of the 2020s. Regardless of his less than sparkling record in MLB, Pannone now holds a piece of MiLB history and will live forever through his incredible accomplishment.
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